Noongali’s Heritage

Noongali traces his ancestry as a member of the Balardong clan from the York area of Western Australia. The Balardong clan is part of the Noongar tribe. He was born and raised in York living within an extended family environment on the York Reserve until the age of 15. Through this lived experience he is well grounded in his Balardong culture.

York is located 100 kilometres inland from the West Australian capital, Perth and is the oldest European inland settlement in Western Australia. York also has a special place in Noongali’s family history, his great grandfather (the original person to bear the name “Noongali”) guided Sir John Forrest, the famed explorer and first Governor of Western Australia, in his exploration and pioneering settlement of the state. The name “Noongali” was handed down to the current Noongali by his father as a mark of respect for his grandfather.

Noongali left home at the age of 15 and found work as a roustabout on Ashburton Downs, a sheep station in the Pilbarra region of Western Australia. By age 17 he had graduated to shearing and spent many years travelling around the state, working as a shearer and chaff cutter and laying tracks for the railways in Western Australia and South Australia.

In 1973, Noongali moved to Perth and the following year he married and did a Diploma of Community Health. He then worked for 7 years as a Community Liaison Officer for the West Australian Department of Public Health after which he moved back home to York.

The first artistic influence on Noongali was his brother Phillip Narkle who is also a prolific artist. It wasn’t until 1987 that Noongali actually started to paint.

In 1987, he and his then partner, Norma Simpkin (nee Woods) volunteered to run a community youth program in Narrogin, Western Australia. Among a range of activities used to motivate the youths, Noongali and Norma encouraged them to paint as a form of expression. The leader of the youths challenged Noongali to show how well he could paint ... a challenge he had to meet to retain his credibility!

It was really only then that he acknowledged his latent talent and he could see that the quality of his art was a worthy expression of his connection with and love for the land. He realized then that he had a gift that could carry the message of the Aboriginal culture, the oldest culture in the world.